Frequently asked questions

Focusly is a time-blocking app for macOS that lives in your menubar. You plan your day into focused work blocks, and Focusly keeps you on track with live timers, fullscreen alerts when a block ends, and deep integrations with your calendar, Slack, Notion, and more.

Download Focusly and enter your email to unlock a 7-day full-access trial — no credit card required. You get the complete experience from day one. After the trial, you can purchase a lifetime license to keep using it forever.

Focusly requires macOS 12 Monterey or later. It runs natively on both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs.

Head to focusly.app/download to grab the latest version. The app is distributed directly — no Mac App Store required.

No. Focusly is a one-time purchase. Pay once, own it forever — no renewals, no recurring charges, no upsells. Future updates are included.

Yes. If Focusly isn't right for you, request a refund within 30 days of purchase. No questions asked — email support@updates.focusly.app with your order details.

Yes. Your license covers all the Macs you personally use. Just activate with your license key on each machine.

We don't have formal team plans yet, but we're happy to work something out. Email us at support@updates.focusly.app and we'll take care of you.

Focusly integrates with Apple Calendar, Google Calendar, and Microsoft Outlook Calendar. Your existing events appear alongside your time blocks so you can plan around meetings without switching apps.

Yes. Focusly can post to a Slack channel when a task starts, ends, or is updated — so your team always knows what you're working on. You can also attach Slack messages to tasks directly.

Yes. Focusly integrates with Notion to create and update pages when tasks are created or completed. You can also link a Notion page to a task for quick access.

Scheduled tasks are placed at a specific time slot in your day (like a calendar event). Timed tasks run like a stopwatch or countdown — you start them and Focusly tracks how long you spend on them. Both types appear in your history with duration data.

AI delegation lets you hand off a task to Claude (Anthropic) or ChatGPT (OpenAI) directly from Focusly. The AI receives your task title, notes, and any attached transcript, then works on it and returns a response — all without leaving the app. You can use the Claude Code CLI, the Anthropic API, the Codex CLI, or the OpenAI API.

Yes. You can record audio, import an audio or video file, or paste text directly into the transcript field on any task. Focusly uses Apple's on-device Speech framework, so transcription is private and works offline.

Templates let you save a task configuration (title, emoji, colour, duration) and reuse it instantly. Routines are scheduled sets of templates that auto-populate your day — great for morning rituals, weekly reviews, or any repeating work pattern.

Yes — all your tasks, templates, and schedules are stored locally on your Mac by default. Nothing is uploaded to our servers. Your data is yours.

Optional iCloud sync is available. When enabled, your tasks are synced end-to-end via your personal iCloud account. We never see or store your data.

Focusly collects minimal, anonymised usage analytics (e.g. feature usage counts) to help improve the app. No task content, titles, or personal information is ever collected. You can opt out in Settings.

All API keys (Anthropic, OpenAI, Slack, Notion, etc.) are stored in your Mac's Keychain — the same secure store used by Safari and iCloud. They never leave your device.

Make sure Focusly is running — open it from Applications if needed. On macOS Sonoma and later, menubar space can be limited; try holding ⌘ and dragging the Focusly icon into view, or use Bartender/Ice to manage overflow icons.

Go to Settings → Calendar and make sure you've granted calendar access. If you're using Google Calendar, you'll need to sign in with OAuth. Tap 'Refresh' to force a sync. If events still don't appear, try revoking and re-granting calendar permissions in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Calendars.

Check System Settings → Notifications → Focusly and make sure alerts are enabled. In the Focusly Settings → Notifications panel, confirm that 'Enable Notification Center' is on. For fullscreen alerts, make sure 'Fullscreen Alerts' is toggled on as well.

Install Focusly on the new Mac and activate it with the same license key. If you had iCloud sync enabled, your data will restore automatically. Otherwise, you can export your tasks from the old Mac via Settings → Storage → Export.

Yes — email support@updates.focusly.app from the address you used to purchase and we'll resend your key right away.